Your little skiers can hit the heights

Having kids doesnt mean skipping the snow: if they can walk, theyre ready for a run. Richard Woods combines top thrills and nursery slopes

The most awesome bump any skier will ever meet is the mogul of pregnancy. Whether it belongs to you or your loved one, it means that skiing will never be quite the same again. To some, the prospect can be like coming to the edge of a heart-thumping off-piste drop and thinking: Oh God, I’ll never make it.

Fear not. Taking young children skiing, like any great run, may seem daunting, but, with luck, at the end you’ll turn round, look back up and think: we did it, we survived and it was glorious.

No matter what the hurdles and complications, there is little to beat the joy of seeing your children take to the slopes for the first time, triggering happy memories of your own early efforts. Remember those planks on your feet? The clumsiness? The frustration and the falls? Then the delight when, suddenly, understanding clicks in and